Tuesday Sept 27, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- Women may experience cognitive decline after menopause because of the loss of ovarian function and reduced estrogen levels. A new study suggests that taking coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10, which is a strong fat soluble antioxidant, may help prevent or reverse postmenopausal cognitive decline.
The study shows that female mice experienced significant cognitive decline four weeks after ovaries were surgically removed. Removal of ovaries blocks the production of estrogen leading to a condition that is similar to what postmenopausal women experience.
In this study, removal of ovaries was found to compromise mitochondrial functions as the activity of mitochondrial electron transport chain components including NADH:cytochrome c reductase, succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase was drastically reduced in the ovariectomized mice.
Ovariectomy was also found to cause high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increase lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls among other things. In response to the elevated oxidative stress, glutathione, a naturally occuring reducing agent, and antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly reduced in the brain of the ovariectomized mice.
However, oral supplementation of CoQ10 in a dose of 10mg per kg body weight for four weeks reversed cognitive deficits observed in mice with surgically induced menopause.
Evidence derived from this study suggests that CoQ10 renders the protective effect against "postmenopausal" cognitive decline by modulating mitochondrial functions and reducing oxidative stress as an antioxidant. (David Liu)
Sandhir R, Sethi N, Aggarwal A, Khera A. Coenzyme Q10 treatment ameliorates cognitive deficits by modulating mitochondrial functions in surgically induced menopause. Neurochem Int. 2014 Jul;74:16-23. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2014.04.011. Epub 2014 Apr 26.
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